Chapter Eight:
Lily's eyes were widely open as the stag trotted through Hogsmeade, and stopped in a nearby field. It bent down, and Lily slid off his back. She sat on the soft grass, rubbing her arms as she shivered in the cool breeze. She turned to look at the beautiful stag, but it had disappeared. Standing in its place was James Potter.
"What – how – where did you come from?" Lily gasped, gaping at James in shock. James knelt down beside her and looked into her eyes worriedly.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Lily was still trembling, although James wasn't sure if it was because of what had just happened or because it was cold. But her eyes had a look of horror in them, and her face was very pale.
"Where did that stag go?" Lily asked, feeling dazed as she noticed that both James and that stag had the same deep hazel eyes.
"You should get some rest," James said, eyeing her worriedly. Lily felt slightly annoyed that James was ignoring her questions about the stag.
"That stag saved my life. Where is it?" she asked, raising her voice. She felt tears sting her eyes as she remembered the werewolf snapping its teeth at her ferociously.
"If I tell you, do you promise not to get the stag in trouble?" James asked.
"What?" Lily looked at James as if he were crazy. "Why would I want to get a stag in trouble? And why do you care about what happens to it?" Lily's head was spinning with questions and confusion.
"Well don't you always say that the only person I care about is myself?" James smiled lightly. Lily stared at James, feeling even more dazed than before.
"You're telling me that you can turn into a stag?" she asked shakily. James nodded his head. "There are only seven registered Animagi – you're not one of them." Lily faintly recalled how the Marauders never paid any attention in Transfiguration, but always received the top marks in the class.
"I'm an illegal Animagi. No one is supposed to know." James replied.
"And that big dog and rat?" Lily asked, feeling very dizzy.
"Sirius and Peter," James smiled. Lily knew she would pass out any second.
"But – how? Human transfiguration is extremely difficult. It takes years to do it," she pointed out.
"Yeah, it took us almost four years to get it right. But its not as difficult as McGonagall makes it sound." James said, with a hint of his usual arrogance in his voice.
"So you guys fancy hanging around with a werewolf?" Lily asked incredulously. James laughed softly.
"Remus got bitten by a werewolf when he was little. He turns into one every full moon. Dumbledore set up a passageway leading to the Shrieking Shack so that Remus could go there to transform. He had to stay up there all alone, so we decided to help him out. Since werewolves aren't too dangerous to other animals. . ." James trailed off when he noticed Lily looking at him in a way she never had before. Her eyes were full of. . .admiration and awe. She almost looked like she was going to cry.
"You learned how to become an Animagus just so Remus wouldn't have to be alone?" she said softly, "That is the nicest thing I've ever heard anyone do."
"Er, well it has plenty of benefits for us." James said quickly, startled that Lily was actually praising him.
"All these years I've said you don't care about anyone besides yourself, but I was so wrong. You care about your friends – even more than most other people do." Lily said warmly. She felt herself being drawn into his eyes, her heart skipping beats.
"I care about you too," James said softly. He could have spent the whole night looking into Lily's eyes, without even laying a finger on her.
"Thank you, for saving my life," Lily whispered, kissing him on the cheek. She closed her eyes, inhaling the smell of his cologne. She was closer to him than she had ever been before, and could even see the tiny hairs standing up on his neck.
"How did you find the passageway?" James suddenly asked. Lily quickly pulled away from him, and started playing with the blades of grass.
"I, um, saw you going into it. I guess my curiosity got the better of me," she admitted, her face turning red.
"Wanted to get me in trouble?" James smirked.
"Yeah, something like that." Lily laughed. She shivered as a gust of icy wind blew over her. James pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly as the wind continued to blow fiercely. Lily snuggled against him, feeling warm and safe.
"I don't think you can get back to school tonight. It's not safe for you to go back into the Shrieking Shack until tomorrow morning." James said. Lily nodded, having forgotten all about going back to Hogwarts. She was quite content staying with James instead.
"Come with me – I know where you can spend the night." James said. He slowly stood up, lifting Lily up with him. Lily followed him off the field, and onto the streets of Hogsmeade. They walked in silence until they reached Zonko's Joke Shop. Lily looked at James quizzically as he leaned towards the door and muttered something. Suddenly, the door swung open.
"How did you do that?" Lily demanded. James took her hand, and led her inside the shop.
"The Marauders have been in here so many times. We know everything about this place." James replied.
"Is that how you guys have so many supplies from here?" Lily asked suspiciously.
"We don't steal," James said reassuringly, "We wouldn't do that to Zonko's." He led Lily to a small room in the back of the shop. Lily spotted a small bed in the corner.
"You'll be safe here." James said, releasing Lily's hand. Lily nodded and walked over to the bed. She sat down on it, glancing around the dark room.
"Goodnight, then," James said, turning to leave the room.
"Wait, where are you going?" Lily cried. The thought of spending the night in Zonko's Joke Shop alone didn't exactly thrill her.
"Scared, Evans?" James joked, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
"No, but I wouldn't want to still be sleeping here when the manager walks in tomorrow morning!" Lily said defensively.
"Calm down, I wasn't going to leave you here alone. I'll be in the main room." James said. Lily grabbed the blanket from the bed, and threw it onto the floor next to her.
"You sleep right there. Who knows what kind of crazy people wander around Hogsmeade at night!" Lily said. James looked at her in amusement, before walking over to the blanket. Lily felt guilty as she watched him spread the blanket out over the wooden floor.
"Here, you can have the bed. If it wasn't for my stupidity, you would be back having fun with your friends," she said.
"No, you have the bed, I'm fine. Besides, who said this wasn't fun?" James replied with a grin. Lily laid down on the bed, looking over the edge at James.
"You will wake up on time tomorrow, right?" she asked nervously.
"Yeah, I'll wake you up as soon as it's safe to go back to the Shrieking Shack. We should get back to school before people start to wake up." James answered.
"Okay, then. Goodnight James," Lily said, curling up to try and stay warm. James watched her for a while, and then stood up with the blanket in his hands.
"Goodnight Lily," he said, draping the blanket over her.
"No, James, it's okay – " Lily gasped as James suddenly transformed into the white stag right in front of her. Lily watched him lay down on the floor in amazement.
"Prongs," she said softly.
* * *
"Hey Lils, wake up!"
Lily opened one of her eyes and squinted up at James, who was standing over her. She had been having the most fascinating dream – she and James were flying over London on his broomstick, taking in all the sights. Then they dropped by Lily's house, where her parents insisted they stay for dinner. They spent the whole night talking and laughing – even Petunia seemed interested, and was unbelievably kind to James.
"James, I just fell asleep," she muttered, annoyed at James for disrupting her perfect dream.
"Well I'm sorry Princess, but we've got to go before Hogwarts wakes up." James replied, taking Lily's blanket away from her.
A few minutes later, they were walking through the front door of the Shrieking Shack. Lily walked several inches behind James, glancing around nervously.
"Are you sure Remus is back to normal now?" she asked. James laughed and nodded. They went to the entrance of the passageway, where the rest of the Marauders were already standing. Remus strode over to Lily worriedly.
"I'm really sorry, Lily. I can't control what I do when I. . .transform. Are you okay?" he apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Remus," Lily smiled.
"So where were you two all this time?" Sirius asked politely.
"At Zonko's Joke Shop. James said it wouldn't be safe to come back here until morning." Lily replied.
"Oh, I see." Sirius said with that same politeness, trying to keep his face straight. The moment Lily turned around, Sirius turned to James and raised his eyebrows.
"Shall we go, then?" James said, trying to ignore Sirius, who was still grinning at him madly. They went through the passageway, and quickly walked back into Hogwarts in silence. There was only one person in the common room when they arrived, who had apparently fallen asleep while studying.
"They'll be waking up soon," Remus said, glancing at the boys' dormitory.
"Yeah, you better go up and pretend you were there all along." James said, turning to face Lily.
"Yes, alright. Er, thanks again James." Lily said, abruptly flinging her arms around James's neck. James, looking thoroughly startled, awkwardly wrapped his arms around her waist. Sirius, Remus and Peter watched in shock and amusement.
"Goodbye, then." Lily said, her face fully red. She started to walk towards the girls' dormitory, then looked back and said, "I won't tell anyone." Then, still looking embarrassed, she quickly went upstairs. James sank into the nearest armchair, vaguely wondering whether this was all a dream.
"So! Had a good night, then?" Sirius grinned. Peter stared at James eagerly, hoping to hear a detailed account of what had happened.
"She kissed me on the cheek!" James said happily, looking slightly dazed. Sirius and Peter's faces fell.
"Er, is that all?" Sirius asked.
"No!" James said irritably, "She didn't pull away when I held her, she told me I was a nice caring person, she thanked me for saving her life, she let me hold her hand, AND she gave me a hug just now."
"Yes, we caught that bit." Sirius laughed.
"Oh and she even wanted me to sleep on the floor next to her!" James said dreamily. He shot a dirty look at Sirius, who was smirking. "She definitely wants me," James grinned.
"Don't get too cocky yet, Prongs." Remus said.
"So did you ask her out?" Sirius asked earnestly.
"No," James replied. Sirius groaned.
"How is it that you ask her out every time she's angry with you, but then the one time she's actually pleased with you, you don't do anything?" he asked.
"She would have thought I was trying to claim my reward or something," James said.
"So?" Peter asked.
"SO, she wouldn't like that." James remarked. Remus looked at him and smiled.
"Well I'll be damned, Prongs. You're finally learning."
* * *
After breakfast, James was in such a good mood, he practically skipped to Transfiguration class. Lily had been exceptionally nice to him in the Great Hall, smiling at him the entire time. She had obviously kept her word about not telling anyone, because her friends looked shocked at Lily's sudden friendly attitude towards James. In fact, the entire table looked quite surprised at how well the two of them were getting along, as if they were old friends.
"Prongs, McGonagall is going to think you're high or something," Sirius muttered. James grinned and grabbed a flyer off the wall.
"What's that?" Peter asked curiously.
"Next trip to Hogsmeade is next week." James replied, reading the flyer.
"That's perfect – why don't you ask Lily to go with you?" Remus suggested.
"She might actually say yes this time," Sirius smirked. James's face lit up at this idea. He ran the rest of the way to Transfiguration class, wanting to ensure a seat next to Lily. As he walked through the door, he spotted a boy just about to sit next to Lily. There were no more available seats anywhere near her. Checking to make sure Lily wasn't watching, James carefully pointed his wand at the boy, and muttered something under his breath. All of a sudden, halfway through sitting down, the boy stood up. Lily gave him a quizzical look.
"I forgot something," the boy said vaguely, scratching his head dumbly as he walked away. James couldn't help grinning as he pocketed his watch, and walked over to the empty seat next to Lily.
"Lily," he said pleasantly, sitting down.
"Hello James," she replied, looking at him suspiciously. She wondered for a moment if he had anything to do with that boy's odd behavior. But then he flashed her a smile, and all her inquiries faded away. Professor McGonagall began her lesson, just as the rest of the Marauders barged into the classroom. She glared at them in annoyance.
"And where is your partner in crime, Mr. Black?" she demanded.
"Why, I'm already here, Professor McGonagall!" James said sweetly. Professor McGonagall stared at him in surprise.
"Right. . .very well, we shall begin," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. She began talking about Human Transfiguration again.
"So Lily, are you going to be busy next week?" James whispered, leaning his head towards Lily.
"Which day next week, James?" Lily whispered back, copying down notes from the board.
"Er," James glanced at the Hogsmeade flyer under the desk, "Saturday?"
"Why?" Lily asked.
"Well, I thought. . .I was wondering. . .would. . .if. . ."
"MR. POTTER! Kindly pay attention!" Professor McGonagall snapped. James rubbed his temples, wondering why it was suddenly so difficult to ask Lily a simple question.
"I was wondering if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me next Saturday," he said quickly. Lily dropped her quill and looked at him.
"Are you asking me on a date, Potter?" she asked sharply. James felt as if something heavy had just been dropped on his head.
"Er, yes?" he replied hesitantly. He watched as Lily scribbled down more notes. He should have known not to get his hopes high. James looked out the window glumly, seriously considering hopping on his broom and flying to Fiji. Something suddenly tickled his ear, and he jumped in surprise. He turned and looked at Lily, who was twirling her feather quill in her fingers.
"Alright then," Lily said suddenly, not looking at him.
"Alright, what?" James asked moodily. Lily gave him a quick smile.
"Alright, I'll go with you to Hogsmeade," she replied. James stared at her in surprise.
"You will?" he said excitedly, a little louder than he had planned.
"MR. POTTER! ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?" Professor McGonagall shouted.
"Yes, professor," James replied, his eyes still fixed on Lily's face. Professor McGonagall did not look amused.
"Well then maybe you would like to tell us, Mr. Potter, how many registered Animagi there are as of now?" she asked, her eyes glaring. James grinned at Lily.
"Seven!"
Author's Note: Thanks for continuing to review!! ~Bananas